Games - Comments / Reviews by Folker

Games - Comments / Reviews by Folker

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Member	Item		Review/Comment
Folker 26th Jul 2021		Video Game Ride To Hell Retribution - Deep Silver (2013)	Described by Wikipedia as "... critically panned upon release and is considered one of the worst video games ever made".
Folker 9th Jul 2021		Video Game The Saga Of Erik The Viking - Level 9 / Mosaic Publishing (1984)	I've added a contemporary article about the game, from Computer & Video Games. Not sure of the exact date, but presumably from 1984.Nice picture of the late great Terry Jones.
Folker 9th Jul 2021		Video Game Countdown To Doom - Acornsoft (1982)	I've added a contemporary review by Keith Campbell, from Computer & Video Games. I don't know the exact publication date, as the page had been torn from the original magazine, but I'm guessing late 1982 or early 1983.
Folker 8th Jul 2021		Video Game Planetoid - Acornsoft (1982)	I've added a rare Acornsoft product leaflet which shows this game under its original "Defender" guise. As such, it must date to no later than 1982. The other games listed are Snapper, Monsters and Philosopher's Quest, Acornsoft's earliest games.
Folker 8th Jul 2021		Video Game Starfire - Beebugsoft (1982)	Amongst the same papers, I've found an early Beebugsoft "Software Library" product leaflet, which lists this game and several others, including Magic Eel.
Folker 8th Jul 2021		Video Game Pimania - Automata (1982)	I've just found an amusing letter, received from Automata, apologising for a bug in the BBC version. I've added a scan, but in case anyone has trouble reading it, here's a transcript of the first paragraph: "The original version of our celebrated computer games was translated by a third a third party, and recently released. This third party has been personally introduced to the office shredder, and is now fulfilling an engagement as several tins of pet food, because of a bug in the translation." Looks like the quality control was no better for their letters than for their software ("a third a third"). Basic business tip #1 : Try not to cock up again, when rectifying a cock-up.
Folker 8th Jul 2021		Video Game Firienwood - MP (1983)	Added instruction leaflet.
Folker 8th Jul 2021		Video Game Magic Eel - Beebugsoft (1982)	Added original instructions. While this type of game became ubiquitous, the novelty value at the time was significant. Back in 1982, BBC games were extremely hard to find and most had to be bought by mail order. By subsequent standards, this was crude and simple, but it wasted many happy hours in my early Beeb days.
Folker 8th Jul 2021		Video Game Swarmers Revenge - Beebugsoft (1983)	Original instruction leaflet added.
Folker 8th Jul 2021		Video Game Omega - Beebugsoft (1983)	Original instruction leaflet added.
Folker 8th Jul 2021		Video Game Starfire - Beebugsoft (1982)	Just rediscovered a load of BBC game related papers, which have been in storage for about 30 years. Original instruction leaflet for this game uploaded.
Folker 8th Jul 2021		Video Game Quake III Arena - id Software (1999)	Thanks alexlincs. More still to come, when time permits. Just a shame that more people don't seem to be contributing to this particular "world".
Folker 21st Jun 2021		Video Game Heretic - GT Interactive Software (1996)	Yes, I've been using the BBC Archive to cross reference several of the games I've been listing, just to check my facts. I like that you can play the games on there, using their on-line emulator. That's been an occasional distraction, when I was supposed to be "researching"! I already have the likes of BeebEm, which is great, but an online "instant play" option is really handy. As for my BBC software collection, well it's been sat in the loft for nearly 30 years. I've listed everything that I have that you haven't already put up, so the well is dry. I'm moving on to my PC and console stuff now. Not quite the same nostalgia value, but some like Heretic and Doom are well worth revisiting.
Folker 21st Jun 2021		Video Game Heretic - GT Interactive Software (1996)	Actually the Games Nostalgia download page says that "the archive includes the required emulator (DOSBox) and it's already configured". Like I said before. The same emulator will run Hexen, Doom, Quake and all that great late-period DOS stuff.
Folker 21st Jun 2021		Video Game Heretic - GT Interactive Software (1996)	No need to buy an old PC. Plays well in DOSBox. Tried it briefly while I was preparing the scans. Works fine on Windows 10 64-bit or anything else that runs DOSBox. I'll add a screen grab from W10.
Folker 20th Jun 2021		Video Game Elite - Acornsoft (1984)	Review This was a really big deal, when it was released. Acornsoft pretty much threw the kitchen sink at it, marketing and packaging wise. The computer press duly took the bait and raved about it. The game won all kinds of awards. It was the first (and probably only) major-player video game which actually started life on the Beeb, rather than getting an after-thought port from some other platform. It was a remarkable programming achievement and demonstrated what could really be achieved on the Beeb, despite its oft-criticised lack of memory. So why do I dislike Elite so much ? Maybe it's because I expect to be able to actually get started with a game I've paid an arm and a leg for. The game appeared to demand that you learn how to slot a flying parcel through a rotating letterbox with millimetre accuracy, before you were allowed to discover what you shelled out all that cash for. My vivid recollections of Elite are not of the vast universe it opened up or the complexities of trading which it simulated, but of endlessly crashing into that bloody docking bay. (This rather reminds me of when my wife spent about 40 quid on a copy of Return To Castle Wolfenstein as a present and I couldn't get past the first 4 or 5 locations.) I suppose alarm bells should have been ringing when I opened the Elite manual. Software which comes with a 64-page (!!) manual isn't a game, it's a job of work. Even the novella was only 48 pages long! Any supposed game which needs a "quick reference guide" and a wall chart, because the manual is so fat, has clearly lost the plot. After a long day at work (ironically, writing computer software), I wanted much more instant gratification from my games. Unfortunately the trend to ever more "immersive" gameplay seems to have been one that the games industry has followed ever since. Now, where's my copy of Space Invaders ... 3 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Folker 19th Jun 2021		Video Game Frak! - Aardvark Software (1984)	Enjoyed semi-legendary status among Beeb users, not least due to it playing the Captain Pugwash theme (a.k.a. Trumpet Hornpipe) when crude attempts were made to "pirate" the game. In fact, the program to play the Pugwash music was itself ripped and circulating in BBC-owning circles, at the time.
Folker 19th Jun 2021		Video Game Twin Kingdom Valley - Bug-Byte (1983)	Review This game received a lot of column inches and had plenty of marketing effort behind it. No doubt that it was a significant achievement to squeeze in all those pictures, to supplement the basic game. However, it all seemed like so much hype. Essentially, a text adventure, with some nice pictures to punctuate your progress. I don't remember playing this very much at all. 1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Folker 19th Jun 2021		Video Game Crypt Capers - Software Projects (1984)	In the modern age of cheap colour printers/scanners, the software "protection" card seems amusingly ineffective. Back in 1984, maybe it made a bit more sense. Ironically, not particularly difficult to rip anyway. No idea what the "Export Only" stamps are about. Bought this in the UK.
Folker 19th Jun 2021		Video Game Space Pilot - Superior Software (1983)	Bizarre choice of cover artwork for a game called "Space Pilot". Stranger still that the first level did indeed feature bi-planes.
Folker 18th Jun 2021		Video Game Banjax - Robico (1985)	The gold on navy blue inlay and hint card look very classy in the flesh, but they are an absolute <expletive> to scan.
Folker 18th Jun 2021		Video Game Maniac Mower - Kansas City Systems (1983)	The exotically named Kansas City Systems, based in ... er ... Chesterfield. Not their best effort, in fact fairly naff.
Folker 18th Jun 2021		Video Game Pengo - H. Soft (1983)	This one seems to have a bit of an identity crisis going on. The program itself, the tape label and parts of the inlay describe it as "Pengo", but that was a name owned by Sega. Hence the fairly feeble attempt to rename it by calling it "Penguin" on the inlay's front and spine. Just to muddy the waters further, the copy illustrated has a Watford Electronics logo and is described as an "advance Christmas copy". I've no recollection of how I acquired this, but it was a fairly decent Pengo clone.
Folker 16th Jun 2021		Video Game Goal! - Tynesoft (1986)	Truly awful cover artwork (Marty Feldman's brother in goal). The game itself wasn't a lot better either.
Folker 16th Jun 2021		Video Game Eagle's Wing - Software Invasion (1984)	I think this just came as a disc (see scan). No retail packaging, that I'm aware of.
Folker 16th Jun 2021		Video Game Galactic Firebird - Kansas City Systems (1983)	Review One of the best space invader shoot em ups ever to grace the BBC Micro, though not nearly as well known as equivalents from competitors with much fatter marketing budgets, like Superior Software and Program Power. Given its release date of 1983, most original copies were on tape, but here is a rare version on floppy disc. Reflecting the small scale/budget of the publisher, I seem to recall that the floppy disc (pictured) was all you got. No "retail" packaging for the disc version. That said, the contents more than made up for the lack of fancy artwork. I wasted hours on this, back in the mid 80s. 4 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Folker 15th Jun 2021		Video Game Colossal Adventure - Level 9 (1983)	This originally came with quite rudimentary packaging, compared to the later blown-vinyl case, with assorted inserts. The original was recorded on a standard TDK C60, with 1200 and 300 baud copies, with typed title/copyright info on the TDK inlay and simple monochrome outer inlay. All very home brewed (see scans). However, this did not detract from the remarkable achievement of squeezing the original Crowther and Woods "Colossal Cave" mainframe program into just 32k of memory. I'd been playing Colossal Cave on our company mini for a while, but this was naturally frowned upon by the powers that be. Being able to play it at home seemed extraordinary, at the time.
Folker 15th Jun 2021		Video Game Toolkit - Basic Programmers Aid (1983)	A great piece of software, which I remember well, but really not a video game (educational or otherwise). Fine, if this were just a "computer software" database, but that's not my understanding of this particular "world".
Folker 12th Jun 2021		Video Game Philosopher's Quest - Acornsoft (1982)	I've added a hint request postcard, which I believe pre-dates the introduction of hint envelopes as supplied with later versions of this and other Acornsoft adventure games. The tape with the black/screwed shell with paper labels comes from the same package and I am guessing it too pre-dates the white shell version.
Folker 12th Jun 2021		Video Game Planetoid - Acornsoft (1982)	One of several excellent early Acornsoft games which were somewhat naively issued under their original names (Defender in this case), then hastily withdrawn and reworked under alternative titles. The original implementations of Pac-man, Defender, Asteroids et al demonstrated the capabilities of the Beeb to great effect, at a very early stage in its development. Original copies of the withdrawn titles are now very hard to find.